Dale Sveum | Catcher

Latest News

Recent News

Padres bench coach Rick Renteria is expected to be named the next Cubs manager on Thursday.

Renteria has been viewed as one of the leading candidates all along. The coach has ties to the Cubs organization due to his familiarity with Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer from their time in San Diego. Former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch was also in the running for the job. Dale Sveum was fired at the end of September. Wed, Nov 6, 2013 06:40:00 PM

The Cubs interviewed Padres executive Brad Ausmus for their managerial vacancy on Friday.

Ausmus became the sixth person to interview for the position, but is said to be near the top of the Cubs' list. Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer is the one who hired Ausmus to his front office position with the Padres in 2010. He's been a very popular name around the league this offseason, having interviewed for the Nationals and Tigers jobs and being discussed as a candidate in Seattle as well. Sat, Nov 2, 2013 10:11:00 AM

Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports that the Cubs will interview Padres executive Brad Ausmus on Friday for their managerial vacancy.

Ausmus will be the sixth person to interview for the job, but Levine notes that he was "always high" on the Cubs' wish list. David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com indicated earlier this week that Ausmus could shoot to the top of the list if he interviews well. Former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch and Padres bench coach Rick Renteria have already been promised second interviews. Fri, Nov 1, 2013 03:16:00 PM

The Cubs had been linked to Lovullo but were waiting for his team's postseason run to conclude. The Tigers are also reportedly interested in giving Lovullo an interview. "I think that whoever gets to sit in that seat is going to be in a really good situation and one that has stability and a long-term plan in place," Lovullo said this week of the Cubs' job. Fri, Nov 1, 2013 09:29:00 AM

Depth Charts

Javier Baez (hamstring) will return to the field in Cactus League action on Sunday.

He's scheduled to take three at-bats as the designated hitter during Saturday's game. Baez has been sidelined for the past week dur to minor soreness in his left hamstring. His availability for Opening Day isn't in question at the moment.

Pedro Strop (calf) said Wednesday that he is close to making his Cactus League debut.

Strop has been slowed by a left calf injury for the last couple of weeks, but there's still a possibility the 32-year-old setup man could be ready for Opening Day. He registered a nice 2.83 ERA, 1.177 WHIP, and 65/26 K/BB ratio across 60 1/3 innings last season out of the Chicago bullpen.

Simmons left Wednesday night's Cactus League game against the Indians after experiencing some tightness in his right shoulder. It's not believed to be serious, but this shutdown period could obviously affect the right-hander's odds of cracking the Cubs' Opening Day bullpen. He signed a one-year, $750,000 free agent contract with Chicago in mid-February.